The Internet has helped make stories available of young girls who are struggling with thoughts of suicide and depression. One local Los Angeles teen has set out to spread awareness and hope to those in need. Delila Brown, 14, an eighth-grader at Flintridge Preparatory School, has organized a concert featuring singer/songwriterJacob Whitesides to benefit Didi Hirsch Mental Health Services, which provides quality mental health care and substance use disorder services in communities where stigma or poverty limit access. The event takes place on January 10that the school auditorium from 3p.m.-8p.m. There will be a “meet and greet” with Jacob for 200 people who purchase $100 VIP tickets. Location: Flintridge Preparatory School, 4345 Crown Avenue, La Canada Flintridge.

As to how Delila came to host the event and chose Didi Hirsh, she said, “I was thinking about what I should do for my 8th grade community service project. I didn’t want to just put out a collection box like a lot of other people I know. So I came up with the idea of having a benefit concert. My teacher helped me find some good charities. She knew about Didi Hirsch and what they do with suicide prevention. That sounded good to me. So we did some research to make sure it was a good organization. Then we had to find someone to do the concert. My dad builds stages and has a friend who is a concert promoter. He told me I should find someone who is not too famous, but up and coming, otherwise it would be hard to get the person to come. I found Jacob Whitesides on YouTube a few years ago and have been following him ever since. My dad’s friend helped me reach out to him through his manager (who happens to be his mom). He wanted to make sure it was a legitimate event and did his own research on Didi Hirsch before he told his manager he wanted to do it. He says he knows a lot of his fans have gone through depression and have been suicidal and he wants to help them.”

Jacob is a 17-year old Internet phenomenon who has six million+ views on YouTube and over one million followers on Twitter.

ABOUT DIDI HIRSCH MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES
Didi Hirsch Mental Health Services provides mental health, substance use disorder and wellness services to more than 74,000 children and adults in 11 locations throughout Los Angeles and Orange Counties each year. Our Suicide Prevention Center’s Crisis Line has English- and Spanish-speaking counselors available 24/7, is one of five centers nationwide to operate the Disaster Distress Helpline, and offers online emotional support, community training and bereavement support groups for those who have lost loved ones to suicide. Learn more atwww.didihirsch.org.

Ding… Ding….The battle is raging and there are no deferments, there is no going AWOL if you are a Christian. No, you are in the battle, automatically, and it is a fight to the finish, a life-or-death conflict. Heed the cry, “Prepare for Battle!” Put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.” For that’s the only way you will be able to stand in the day of battle, and at the end of the day stand victorious… Get Ready to R-u-m-b-l-e… This is the most crucial, most intense battle you will ever face in your life; it is a battle that will last your whole life long. No matter how young or old you are, no matter how long you have been a Christian, man or woman, boy or girl, pastor or layperson—you are in a battle. It is a spiritual battle. Paul describes it like this: “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly place.” The fight is raging on the line between faith and unbelief, between reliance on God and pride in self, between hope for the future and despair of God’s mercy. Your enemy Satan will try to defeat you, destroy you, and get you to fall away from the faith. He will try to distract you or render you ineffective in the service of the Lord. He will tempt you; allure you, seducing you into great shame and vice. And if that doesn’t work, he may try to lull you into spiritual sleepiness and security, getting you to let down your guard. Your adversary will attack your mind, attack your emotions, attack your body, attack your relationship, and attack your soul. In all of these attacks, his purpose is to get your eyes off of Jesus.

Needless to say, this is a battle not to stay alive but to stay strong against your spiritual enemies who are a trinity of evil; the world, the flesh, and the devil. It is about who shall have the supremacy, Christ or Satan. It is a struggle for the souls of men. It is a battle to keep people out of Hell. It is a struggle to get people saved. It is warfare, a conflict until the final finish. And every one of us is engaged in it. We are in warfare. That ought to keep us from folding our hands and taking it easy. That ought to make us sit up and take notice. “Woe to them that are at ease in Zion” (Amos 6:1). Your enemy supreme desire is to destroy your joy, your witness, your effectiveness for Christ, and your relationship with your Father. This is not WrestleMania either, this one is for real! Your fight is not just to exist as a Christian, but to have a winning walk in all areas of your life. The victory assures you that you will live a life of spiritual depth and meaning. Jesus said, “I am come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” (John 10:10).

I want you to know that the Christian life is not a playground but a battleground. I want you to know that just because you are a church member and you attend church does not mean that you are going to win in life’s fight. I want you to know that you are not going to win just because your church happens to be a Word-preaching, tongue-talking, devil-stomping, deliverance church either. You have got to pay attention and apply yourself to spiritual truths. When you grasp the fact that you win in life’s fightsONLYwhen you fight the fight of faith, you will be on your way to enjoying victory that God meant for you to have.

The good news is that God has equipped you for the battle. He has given you a complete set of armor, especially suited for this conflict. Paul even lists the pieces of armor you’ve been issued: He says, “… stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for God’s people.” {Ephesians 6:10-18} God is guaranteeing that if you use His weapons, you will win. They are “mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds.” Use them, and things will fall before you, is what He is saying. Therefore, arm yourself with the Word of God and face your enemy with full assurance of God’s protection and love. No doubt this will be the most unusual wrestling match in your life. Prepare for Battle! Put on the whole armor of God, and you will not only live to fight another day; but at the end of the day and on the Last Day, you will stand victorious…. Get Ready to R-U-M-B-L-E!”

My friend, I want you to know that God hasn’t changed! He is still a God who keeps His Word! Everything God has promised, He will do! There are some verses in the Bible that confirms this – {Romans 4:21; Heb. 6:18; Num. 23:19; Titus 1:2.} But I’m not telling you anything that you don’t already know. God has proven Himself time and again to us. He is still coming through for His people. Look back over the years and remember the times the Lord has displayed His great power in your life. Hasn’t He parted the waters for you? Hasn’t He opened the heavens and dropped the manna of His glory on your life over and over? Hasn’t He moved in response to your cries of faith? He has proven Himself to you and me repeatedly! All I am saying is that we can TRUST the Lord for EVERYTHING in our lives. We have a God who has demonstrated His power, His grace, His love and His character many times over. Think of the times He has delivered you; when He saved you, and the times He moved mountains in your life. Remember His power and all that He has done. Let His past works remind you that He is able, no matter what you face in life. GOD IS ABLE and He will come through for you, EVERY TIME! Let the past be your reminder and learn to TRUST HIM no matter what! “I’m just a Nobody, trying to tell Everybody about Somebody who can save Anybody!”

Unfortunately though, there are many of us who call ourselves “Christians,” fail to trust the Lord and fail to remember that GOD CAN! As a result, we live our lives defeated and discouraged. It doesn’t have to be that way! I challenge you to GIVE IT ALL to the Lord today and find out for yourself that GOD CAN! Psalms 34:8 says, “O taste and see.” The psalmist invites us to come and “Taste and see that the Lord is good.” We are invited to experience God’s presence. The psalmist is a poor man seeking to taste what he believes about God. He is calling upon God. He is experiencing deliverance from all his fears. He is experiencing God’s salvation in troublesome times. His shame is covered despite his failures. He is experiencing refuge in God and feeling the presence of the angels encamping around him. Will you give your doubts, your fears and your questions to Jesus? For the omniscient power of God has not, nor shall it ever change! I tell you, the closer we engage with God the more we can know His goodness. In Psalm 34:8 the Lord urges you to “Taste! Sample and see. Find out for yourself that He is good.” God’s goodness is what He wants us to experience. He offers Himself to us. Psalms 100:5 says, “For the Lord is good, His steadfast love endures forever, and His faithfulness is to all generations.” Every generation learns the truth – God goodness is something He wants us to experience. It flows to us as steadfast love and faithfulness and is present in everything He does. If you are a child of God, you will figure this out by the end of your life… God is good! Now there’s no telling what He will take you through to bring you that place. But eventually your value system will be set up in such a way that you say, “The Lord is good!” Everything he allowed; everything He withheld, every difficult season, and every stretching circumstance. God meant for your good. His disposition is kindness. His default action is for your benefit. Oh magnify the Lord with me! “I’m Just a Nobody, Trying to Tell Everybody about Somebody Who Can Save Anybody!” Somebody who can bring you from guilty, to not guilty. From death to life. From darkness to light. From hatred to love. From weakness to power. From bondage to freedom. From tribulations to triumph. From grief to joy. From gloom to glory. From defeat to victory. From failure to success. From fear to faith, from I can’t too I can. Knowing all of this, who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril. As it is written, for thy sake we are killed all the day long, we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him that love us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, no height nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Let us all be a little like Zacchaeus {Luke 19:1-10} who was curious about Jesus and wanted to see with his physical eyes what all the commotion was about. When Zacchaeus heard about Jesus travel through town, a thought came to him, a thought from the depth of his soul, he just HAD to see who this Jesus guy was. Is He who He says He is? Zacchaeus, a man on a journey to find something to believe in. He embarks on a quest to see who this Jesus was and comes away converted to the way of Jesus and forgiven of all his sins. Oh, give God some praise!

Listen; if your life lacks meaning, if there is no hope, if everything you have tried has left you defeated, discouraged, disillusioned and looking for more, then Jesus is your answer. You don’t have to climb a tree to meet Him, all you have to do is to respond to His call and come to Him . If you will do that and if you will receive Him, He will save your soul! “I’m Just a Nobody, Trying to tell Everybody about Somebody who can save Everybody!”